Holby’s Rob: ‘Arthur wants to be a hero!’

Having failed to help a wounded Chantelle after the mugging, Arthur has to prove his not a coward, as Rob Ostlere reveals…

What is Arthur’s initial reaction to the attack?“Well, straight away he freezes and panics. The sad thing about this is that Chantelle is wounded and crying out for him and it’s a moment where he could really show how much he cares about her but he’s frozen to the spot.”

What emotions is he going through in the immediate aftermath?“Arthur’s a bit paranoid about what others at the hospital think when they realise he didn’t help her, and the fact that this brings him face-to-face with his own flaws. Then when Chantelle turns up at work, we see him trying to deal with this guilt and the fact he’s let her down.”

How does he try to make things up to Chantelle?“Arthur keeps trying to look after Chantelle, who just wants to be left alone. He feels he needs to make amends and thinks flying into action will prove he can be heroic. He’s got an image in his head of how he wants to be as a man – but the reality is so far away from that.”

Are Chantelle and Arthur surprised when teen Cameron turns up injured?“They are. We already know, from the previous episode, that he’s a troubled boy but when he proves difficult to treat, this piques Arthur’s interest. Chantelle’s always very non-judgemental and sees the good in everyone, while Arthur’s naturally more suspicious and immediately jumps to conclusions that Cameron’s the one who attacked them.”

Does Arthur manage to convince Chantelle he’s right?“Arthur turns detective and proves to Chantelle that Cameron’s the mugger. Arthur wants to do things by the book, and call the police, whereas Chantelle insists on giving Cameron the benefit of the doubt. They have different ways of dealing with him, which causes them to clash.”

Do we see a more confident Arthur in this episode?“Yes, I think we do see a change in Arthur. The situation with Cameron comes to a head and Arthur’s forced to ‘man up’… in his own special way. However, we also see a change in Chantelle in that her optimism and positive way of seeing the world has slightly been chipped away by this experience. But Arthur tells her what an amazing person she is and she ends up giving him a little kiss.”

Ooh…. It is a ‘friend’ kiss – or a real kiss?“As far as Arthur’s concerned it’s a real kiss. Chantelle recently told Arthur she just wanted to be friends, so something he thought was an impossibility has now come true.”

Holby City continues on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC1

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